One cause of reduced efficiency in integrated circuit devices such as rectifiers is inadequate cooling during normal operation. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one package option for a Vishay® Semiconductor brand dual high-voltage rectifier device 10 having two semiconductor dies (not visible) inside, manufactured by Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. Device 10 is through-hole mountable via leads 14 (although surface-mountable packaging options are available), and includes an exterior epoxy housing 12 and an aluminum-composite heat sink 16. Heat sink 16 may form one side of housing 12, or be attached thereto. During operation of device 10, heat generated by the dies is transferred through leads 14, housing 12, and heat sink 16. The thermal conductivity of housing 12 is generally significantly less than that of heat sink 16, however, which may result in areas of device 10 having unsatisfactory thermal dissipation performance.
There are needs for integrated circuit devices, such as semiconductor devices, with package designs incorporating lightweight, electrically-isolated heat sinks that can be used in both surface-mountable and through-hole-mountable applications to satisfactorily dissipate heat from multiple surfaces of a device, including the housing thereof.
It will be appreciated that the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all of the disadvantages of specific integrated circuit device packaging designs or aspects thereof.